Finding Ways to Thwart the Jerk at Work

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CreditCreditMichael Waraksa

By Phyllis Korkki

Nov. 21, 2015

Most of us have days at work when we walk around with a spring in our step and perform our tasks with gusto — and other days when our feet drag and we just can’t seem to get motivated. A new study encourages employees to look more closely at the people around them as one reason for that disparity.

A team of researchers that included Gretchen Spreitzer, a management professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, found that some employees are “de-energizers” who spread their dispiriting attitude to others. In nonacademic parlance, these people are known as jerks. Professor Spreitzer wrote the study with Alexandra Gerbasi and Andrew Parker of Grenoble École de Management, Christine L. Porath of Georgetown University, and Rob Cross of the University of Virginia.

Almost everyone knows of prima donnas who get away with bad behavior because they are so good at their jobs. What managers may not realize is that this type of behavior spreads a dark cloud over everyone else, and the whole organization suffers, Professor Spreitzer said.

You know you’ve just interacted with a jerk when you leave his or her presence feeling deflated and depleted, she said. By contrast, when you deal with the opposite type, an energizer, you end up feeling rejuvenated. Sometimes there is merely a neutral effect, where your energy stays the same, she added.

Professor Spreitzer and her colleagues studied a group of I.T. professionals at an engineering firm. They asked all the workers to rate the type of energy their colleagues projected, and then tabulated each person’s overall rating. The study found that “the more people you interact with that you report as de-energizing, the lower your performance,” Professor Spreitzer said. Worse, she said, the presence of energizers does not necessarily cancel out that effect.

It is hard to eliminate de-energizing behavior in the workplace because so often it is ambiguous. Outright bullying or abusive behavior — easier to identify and take steps to prevent — is less common than behaviors like ignoring or belittling someone or excluding someone from a conversation or a meeting. Often this lower-level bad behavior is not even intentional, Professor Spreitzer said, and when the intent is ambiguous, it is hard to know how to respond.

In a second study, Professor Spreitzer and her colleagues studied employees in a management consulting firm to find out if there were things people could do to buffer the effect of de-energizers.

Ensuring that your work has meaning and purpose will help cushion the effect of jerks and enable you to thrive, Professor Spreitzer said. Purpose could take the form of making a big difference to a customer or helping an employee develop a new skill, but it has to come from within to make a difference.

Another way to counteract the effect of jerks is to work more frequently with energizers, by volunteering for a team that includes them, for example, or looking for other opportunities to interact with them, Professor Spreitzer said.

Many people don’t consciously think about the people and situations that are draining or renewing their energy. Simply taking some time to reflect on these peaks and valleys can help people develop new coping strategies, Professor Spreitzer said, and leaders can help shift the balance toward positive energy by considering that type of behavior when conducting performance reviews and awarding promotions.